Дисертації з теми "Feeding automatons"

Les nouvelles technologies se développent en élevage porcin, afin d’aider le travail des agriculteurs. Elles permettent la distribution d’une alimentation sur mesure pour des truies gestantes et une meilleure surveillance du comportement des animaux. La problématique de cette thèse est d’améliorer l’estimation des besoins nutritionnels journaliers et d’identifier l’état de bien-être individuel des truies gestantes, à l’aide de données comportementales et environnementales. Le premier objectif s’est intéressé à l’évaluation des effets des perturbations environnementales sur le comportement et les besoins nutritionnels. Pour cela, deux bandes de truies ont été suivies lors de deux gestations consécutives durant lesquelles différents évènements ont étéprovoqués. Les résultats ont permis de mettre en évidence l’influence des conditions environnementales sur le comportement et les besoins nutritionnels des truies au cours de leur gestation, et ont permis d’identifier une forte variabilité individuelle. Dans une deuxième partie, il s’agissait d’estimer individuellement les besoins journaliers et le bien-être, à partir des données comportementales et environnementales enregistrées par des capteurs. Les résultats ont montré que cette estimation peut être réalisée de façon précise grâce à différents algorithmes de machine learning sur des données produites par l’automate d’alimentation. Cette thèse propose donc des méthodes innovantes pour la conception d’un outil d’aide à la décision visant à améliorer l’alimentation sur mesure et le bien-être des truies gestantes
New technologies are developing increasingly in pig farming, to help farmers in their labour tasks. They allow the distribution of tailored diets for gestating sows and better animal behaviour monitoring. The issue of this thesis is to improve the estimation of daily nutritional requirements and estimate the individual welfare status of gestating sows using behavioural and environmental data collected automatically. The first aim was to evaluate experimentally the effects of environmental disturbances on behaviour and nutritional requirements. To achieve this, two groups of sows were followed during two consecutive gestations during which several events were induced. A database containing a variety ofsows’ behavioural data was built from these experiments. The results of the thesis highlighted the influence of environmental conditions on the behaviour and nutritional requirements of sows during gestation, as well as an important individual variability. The second part involved estimating individual daily requirements and welfare based on behavioural and environmental data recorded by sensors. The individual estimation of nutritional requirements and state of welfare can be carried out accurately using machine learning algorithms and data produced by the automatic feeder. Using these innovative methods, this thesis opens potential for the design of a decision-support tool aiming at adjusting feeding and improving the welfare of gestating sows

Feeding Total Mixed Rations (TMR) has become a common practice for dairy cows as a result of the benefits for the animals and the labour savings for farmers. Characteristic for this feeding system are the man-operated mechanical mixers. Besides the advantages of the TMR technique, it has the same drawback as most traditional ad-libitum feeding systems that the discharge of feed is limited to once, maximum twice a day. During the last 5-8 years, technologies for automatically feeding cows with TMR have grown in popularity. Almost 20 manufacturers are working worldwide on different designs for automatic feeding systems (AFS) while an estimated 400-500 farms have adopted this technology, mostly located in Northern Europe, Canada and Japan. The different manufacturers offer a wide range of technical solutions. Some of the most important aspects that characterize these systems include the possibility of a high frequency to distribute the ration, to control the feeding times, to stimulate the cow activity and to manage the composition of the total daily ration with the objective to control the feed intake. The management possibilities and the quality of work seem to be strongly affected by the concepts of the technical solutions that are now available. The thesys discusses, in Chapter 1, the physiologic aspects affecting the possibility of mechanize the feeding operations of dairy cows. In Chapter 2 the different automatic feeding technolgies have been analyzed and classified for the first time. In Chapter 3 the results of a survey involving the Wageningen University and carried out in 22 Dutch farms that use automatic systems for milking and feeding cows have been described. In Chapter 4 an assessment of the main functional parameters of AFSs such as mixing uniformity, physical composition of the ration and cows behaviour has been reported. In Chapter 5 the thesis reports the economic analisys related to the introduction of AFS and the first problems encountered leading to propose further research actions.

Il presente elaborato è volto alla razionalizzazione del sistema di material handling per l’alimentazione delle linee di montaggio della IEMCA, una divisione della società Bucci Automations S.p.A., la quale opera nel settore dell’automazione industriale. Le fluttuazioni della domanda di mercato sono tali da rendere difficile la gestione della logistica interna e l’organizzazione degli spazi dello stabilimento, per questa ragione si è reso necessario lo sviluppo di un progetto volto alla riduzione delle inefficienze presenti nel processo di line feeding. La criticità principale riscontrata risiede nel pessimo sfruttamento della capacità di carico dei veicoli, il quale si ripercuote sulle prestazioni del sistema di material handling, aumentando i costi ad esso connessi. Per migliorare le performance è stata proposta la creazione di una baia di consolidamento delle unità di carico, la quale consente di massimizzare la saturazione dei veicoli e di cambiare la logica di alimentazione delle linee. La soluzione introdotta ha permesso un notevole miglioramento dello sfruttamento della capacità di carico dei carrelli elevatori, il quale si ripercuoterà su tutti gli altri indicatori. Nel complesso, infatti, si è registrato un risparmio percentuale del 50% del tempo e delle distanze percorse dai veicoli ogni giorno, oltre che un saving economico di 68.000 euro nell’arco dei 7 mesi simulati. Infine, per migliorare la flessibilità e l’elasticità del sistema di material handling, il presente elaborato propone la costruzione di un indicatore in grado di quantificare le ore di movimentazione necessarie per la produzione di ciascuna tipologia di caricatore, al fine di dimensionare le risorse in funzione del mix produttivo. Ciò ha permesso di stimare il numero di operatori necessari per le attività di material handling, in accordo con gli obiettivi di produzione previsti per il prossimo anno.

Thesis (MScEng (Process Engineering))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
With the harvesting of fish and other aquatic organisms from natural waters having reached its upper limit, aquaculture is vital in providing for the ever increasing demand for fishery products (Boyd, 1999). Not surprisingly, aquaculture has seen considerable growth over the last decade or more. With the rising importance of aquaculture, there is an increased emphasis on cost and reducing of waste for environmental reasons. Therefore, attempts to automate or increase efficiency of feeding are constantly being explored. On an aquaculture unit approximately 60% of all costs are for feed; therefore high quality feeding management is essential for all fish farmers. The rainbow trout farm at Jonkershoek Aquaculture Research farm near Stellenbosch currently have a feeding management system which makes use of traditional hand feeding. Handfeeding is not considered optimal, as the feed intake or pellet loss is not closely monitored resulting in higher operating costs. Automation of aquaculture systems will allow the industry to produce closer to markets, improve environmental control, reduce catastrophic losses, minimize environmental regulation by reducing effluents, reduce production costs and improve product quality. The history of automated control in aquaculture has been brief; most of the systems have been custom-designed, personal computer systems. A very popular approach for an automated feeding system is to monitor waste pellets beneath the feeding zone of the fish, with a feedback loop that can switch off the feeder if this waste exceeds a predetermined threshold. Other approaches use hydroacoustics to monitor waste pellets or demand feeders have also been implemented. These approaches however are not considered optimal as automatic feeders do not necessarily ensure optimal feed intake. Social dominance using demand feeders does not allow even feeding distribution among all sizes of fish. In this project it was investigated whether an automated feeding system can be developed based on fish feeding behaviour. After facing problems with poor visibility at the Jonkershoek Aquaculture farm near Stellenbosch, video data were acquired from the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. Since it was a feasibility study, the focus was rather to investigate whether a predictive model could be generated for fish feeding behaviour in a more ideal environment which can form a foundation for further research. The well-established multivariate methods of principal components

A lot of people worldwide are affected by limitations and disabilities that make it hard to do even essential actions and everyday tasks, such as eating. The impact of robotics on the lives of elder people or people having any kind of inability, which makes it hard everyday actions as to eat, was considered. The aim of this thesis is to study the implementation of a robotic system in order to achieve an automatic feeding process. Different kinds of robots and solutions were taken into account, for instance, the Obi and the prototype realized by the Washington University. The system considered uses an RGBD camera, an Intel RealSense D400 series camera, to detect pieces of cutlery and food on a table and a robotic arm, an ABB-YuMi, to pick up the identified objects. The spoon detection is based on the pre-trained convolutional neural network AlexNet provided by MATLAB. Two detectors were implemented. The first one can detect up to four different objects (spoon, plate, fork and knife), the second one can detect only spoon and plate. Different algorithms based on morphology were tested in order to compute the pose of the objects detected. RobotStudio was used to establish a connection between MATLAB and the robot. The goal was to make the whole process as automated as possible. The neural network trained on two objects reached 100% of accuracy during the training test. The detector based on it was tested on the real system. It was possible to detect the spoon and the plate and to draw a good centered boundary box. The accuracy reached can be considered satisfying since it has been possible to grasp a spoon using the YuMi based on a picture of the table. It was noticed that the lighting condition is the key factor to get a satisfying result or to miss the detection of the spoon. The best result was archived when the light is uniform and there are no reflections and shadows on the objects. The pictures which get a better result for the detection were taken in an apartment. Despite the limitations of the interface between MATLAB and the controller of the YuMi, a good level of automation was reached. The influence of lighting conditions in this setting was discussed and some practical suggestions and considerations were made.
No

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
O presente estudo tem como objetivos avaliar o efeito de elevadas frequências de alimentação nas fases iniciais de criação de tilápia (Oreochromis niloticus) da linhagem GIFT sobre o desempenho produtivo, reversão sexual. Foram utilizados 24 hapas com abertura de malhas de (1 mm e 7 mm) , distribuídos em um viveiro de 1000 m2, com profundidade média de 1,5 metros e renovação de água de 7 % do volume total. As pós-larvas de tilápias, com peso e comprimento médio 0,015 ± 0,002 g e 10 ± 4 mm respectivamente, foram alojadas na densidade de 2 larvas por litro totalizando 500 larvas por hapa. Um sistema automatizado de alimentação foi instalado individualmente nos hapas. As pós-larvas foram submetidas a quatro diferentes frequências alimentares durante o dia e a noite: T24 (24 vezes – hora em hora); T32 (32 vezes – 45 em 45minutos); T48 (48 vezes – 30 em 30 minutos) e T96 (96 vezes – 15 em 15minutos) com seis repetições por tratamento. O processo de reversão sexual foi de 14 dias de administração de hormônio incorporado a dieta, e consequentemente foram alimentados com outras dietas por um período de 70 dias. Semanalmente foram realizadas biometrias de 50 animas, de cada unidade experimental, para a correção da oferta de alimento. Todas as frequências utilizadas foram eficientes no processo de reversão sexual em 14 dias. A frequência de 48 vezes de alimentação apresentou os melhores resultados para ganho de peso, peso médio final, sobrevivência e reversão sexual. Na fase juvenil não houve diferença significativa entre as frequências alimentares
The present study has objectives to evaluate the effect high feeding frequency in the initial phases of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) of strain GIFT on the growth performance, sex reversal. Were used 24 hapas with opening of meshes of (1 mm and 7 mm), distributed in a pond of 1000 m2, with medium depth of 1,5 meters and renewal of water of 7% of the total volume. The fry with medium weight and length (0.015 ± 0.002 g and 10.4 mm) respectively, with in the density of 2 fry by liter. An automated feeding system was installed individually in the hapas. The fry were submitted to four different feeding frequencies during the day and the night: T24 (24 times - hour in hour); T32 (32 times - 45 in 45 minutes); T48 (48 times - 30 in 30 minutes) and T96 (96vezes - 15 in 15 minutes) with six repetitions for treatment. The sex reversal process was in 14 days of administration the hormone diet, and consequently they were fed with other diets by a period of 70 days. Weekly samplings of 50 fish were accomplished, of each experimental unit, for the correction of the food offer. The high feeding frequencies were effective in the sex reversal process in 14 days, The feeding frequency of 48 presented the best results for weight wining, final medium weight, survival and sex reversal.. In the juvenile there was not significant difference among feeding frequencies

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The continuous demand growth for liquid fuels, alongside with the decrease of fossil oil reserves, unavoidable in the long term, induces investigations for new energy sources. A possible alternative is the use of bioethanol, produced by renewable resources such as sugarcane bagasse. Two thirds of the cultivated sugarcane biomass are sugarcane bagasse and leaves, not fermentable when the current, first-generation (1G) process is used. A great interest has been given to techniques capable of utilizing the carbohydrates from this material. Among them, production of second generation (2G) ethanol is a possible alternative. 2G ethanol requires two additional operations: a pretreatment and a hydrolysis stage. Regarding the hydrolysis, the dominant technical solution has been based on the use of enzymatic complexes to hydrolyze the lignocellulosic substrate. To ensure the feasibility of the process, a high final concentration of glucose after the enzymatic hydrolysis is desirable. To achieve this objective, a high solid consistency in the reactor is necessary. However, a high load of solids generates a series of operational difficulties within the reactor. This is a crucial bottleneck of the 2G process. A possible solution is using a fed-batch process, with feeding profiles of enzymes and substrate that enhance in the process yield and productivity. The main objective of this work was to implement and test a system to infer online concentrations of fermentable carbohydrates in the reactive system, and to optimize the feeding strategy of substrate and/or enzymatic complex, according to a model-based control strategy. Batch and fed-batch experiments were conducted in order to test the adherence of four simplified kinetic models. The model with best adherence to the experimental data (a modified Michaelis-Mentem model with inhibition by the product) was used to train an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) as a softsensor to predict glucose concentrations. Further, this ANN may be used in a closedloop control strategy. A feeding profile optimizer was implemented, based on the optimal control approach. The ANN was capable of inferring the product concentration from the available data with good adherence (Determination Coefficient of 0.972). The optimization algorithm generated profiles that increased a process performance index while maintaining operational levels within the reactor, reaching glucose concentrations close to those utilized in current first generation technology a (ranging between 156.0 g.L⁻¹ and 168.3 g.L⁻¹). However rough estimates for scaling up the reactor to industrial dimensions indicate that this conventional reactor design must be replaced by a two-stage reactor, to minimize the volume of liquid to be stirred.
A crescente demanda por combustíveis líquidos, bem como a diminuição das reservas de petróleo, inevitáveis a longo prazo, induzem pesquisas por novas fontes de energia. Uma possível solução é o uso do bioetanol, produzido de resíduos, como o bagaço de cana-deaçúcar. Dois terços da biomassa cultivada são bagaço e folhas. Estas frações não são fermentescíveis quando se usa a tecnologia de primeira geração atual (1G). Um grande interesse vem sendo prestado a técnicas capazes de utilizar os carboidratos deste material. Dentre elas, a produção de etanol de segunda geração (2G) é uma possível alternativa. Etanol 2G requer duas operações adicionais: etapas de pré-tratamento e hidrólise. Considerando a hidrólise, a técnica dominante tem sido a utilização de complexos enzimáticos para hidrolisar o substrato lignocelulósico. Para assegurar a viabilidade do processo, uma alta concentração final de glicose é necessária ao final do processo. Para atingir esse objetivo, uma alta concentração de sólidos no reator é necessária. No entanto, uma carga grande de sólidos gera uma série de dificuldades operacionais para o processo. Este é um gargalo crucial do processo 2G. Uma possível solução é utilizar um processo de batelada alimentada, com perfis de alimentação de enzima e substrato para aumentar produtividade e rendimento. O principal objetivo deste trabalho é implementar e testar um sistema para inferir concentração de carboidratos fermentescíveis automaticamente e otimizar a política de substrato e/ou enzima em tempo real, de acordo com uma estratégia de controle baseada em modelo cinético. Experimentos de batelada e batelada alimentada foram realizados a fim de testar a aderência de 4 modelos cinéticos simplificados. O modelo com melhor aderência aos dados experimentais (um modelo de Michaelis-Mentem modificado com inibição por produto) foi utilizado para gerar dados a fim de treinar uma rede neural artificial para predizer concentrações de glicose automaticamente. Em estudos futuros, esta rede pode ser utilizada para compor o fechamento da malha de controle. Um otimizador de perfil de alimentação foi implementado, este foi baseado em uma abordagem de controle ótimo. A rede neural foi capaz de predizer a concentração de produto com os dados disponíveis de maneira satisfatória (Coeficiente de Determinação de 0.972). O algoritmo de otimização gerou perfis que aumentaram a performance do processo enquanto manteve as condições da hidrólise dentro de níveis operacionais, e gerou concentrações de glicose próximas as obtidas pelo caldo de cana-de-açúcar da primeira geração (valores entre 156.0 g.L ¹ e 168.3 g.L ¹). No entanto, estimativas iniciais de ⁻ ⁻ aumento de escala do processo demonstraram que para atingir dimensões industriais o projeto do reator utilizado deve ser analisado, substituindo o mesmo por um processo em dois estágios para diminuir o volume do reator e energia para agitação.

Orientador: Claudio Angelo Agostinho
Banca: Margarida Maria Barros
Banca: Luiz Edivaldo Pezzato
Banca: Maria Célia Portella
Banca: Robie Allan Bombardelli
Resumo: O presente estudo tem como objetivos avaliar o efeito de elevadas frequências de alimentação nas fases iniciais de criação de tilápia (Oreochromis niloticus) da linhagem GIFT sobre o desempenho produtivo, reversão sexual. Foram utilizados 24 hapas com abertura de malhas de (1 mm e 7 mm) , distribuídos em um viveiro de 1000 m2, com profundidade média de 1,5 metros e renovação de água de 7 % do volume total. As pós-larvas de tilápias, com peso e comprimento médio 0,015 ± 0,002 g e 10 ± 4 mm respectivamente, foram alojadas na densidade de 2 larvas por litro totalizando 500 larvas por hapa. Um sistema automatizado de alimentação foi instalado individualmente nos hapas. As pós-larvas foram submetidas a quatro diferentes frequências alimentares durante o dia e a noite: T24 (24 vezes - hora em hora); T32 (32 vezes - 45 em 45minutos); T48 (48 vezes - 30 em 30 minutos) e T96 (96 vezes - 15 em 15minutos) com seis repetições por tratamento. O processo de reversão sexual foi de 14 dias de administração de hormônio incorporado a dieta, e consequentemente foram alimentados com outras dietas por um período de 70 dias. Semanalmente foram realizadas biometrias de 50 animas, de cada unidade experimental, para a correção da oferta de alimento. Todas as frequências utilizadas foram eficientes no processo de reversão sexual em 14 dias. A frequência de 48 vezes de alimentação apresentou os melhores resultados para ganho de peso, peso médio final, sobrevivência e reversão sexual. Na fase juvenil não houve diferença significativa entre as frequências alimentares
Abstract: The present study has objectives to evaluate the effect high feeding frequency in the initial phases of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) of strain GIFT on the growth performance, sex reversal. Were used 24 hapas with opening of meshes of (1 mm and 7 mm), distributed in a pond of 1000 m2, with medium depth of 1,5 meters and renewal of water of 7% of the total volume. The fry with medium weight and length (0.015 ± 0.002 g and 10.4 mm) respectively, with in the density of 2 fry by liter. An automated feeding system was installed individually in the hapas. The fry were submitted to four different feeding frequencies during the day and the night: T24 (24 times - hour in hour); T32 (32 times - 45 in 45 minutes); T48 (48 times - 30 in 30 minutes) and T96 (96vezes - 15 in 15 minutes) with six repetitions for treatment. The sex reversal process was in 14 days of administration the hormone diet, and consequently they were fed with other diets by a period of 70 days. Weekly samplings of 50 fish were accomplished, of each experimental unit, for the correction of the food offer. The high feeding frequencies were effective in the sex reversal process in 14 days, The feeding frequency of 48 presented the best results for weight wining, final medium weight, survival and sex reversal.. In the juvenile there was not significant difference among feeding frequencies
Doutor

The work carried out at the company Pulsar Engineering s.r.l, and discussed in this thesis, focuses on the construction of a model for the dynamic simulation of the operations of a machine that allows feeding and sorting/merging in the tissue sector called REDS INTERMEDIATE. The goal is to derive a powerful dynamic model that can simulate a large range of REDS intermediate that could work in different existing operating modes (DIVERTER, COMBINER and By-pass modes) and containing all existing operating strategies (REVOLVER and TETRIS strategies). This was possible with the aid of a powerful simulation tool called PLS DYNAMIC/ TISSUEPLS DYNAMIC. It is important to emphasize that we will deal with a simplified production line since we are interested in just getting the REDS INTERMEDIATE model. This model can be used to: - Obtain a real estimate of the parameters necessary for the design of a production line. - See the behaviour of the PULSAR line in a 2D and 3D interface proposed by the software. The following discussion reports the study in question presenting some result, starting from a general description of the production lines, and a static analysis of the REDS INTERMEDIATE.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The food automation provides increased productivity, feed efficiency, uniformity of lots, uniformity in the sexual inverse and the best performance. This study aimed to develop a low cost automatic feeder, by a microcontrolled platform called ARDUINO UNO®, which was able to provide installments feed previously programmed. To the prototype development in question was used basically: flotation and support structure, feed tank and screw conveyor, motor and electronic systems. The support system was deployment with the use of plastic flooring (HDPE-high density polyethylene). The sides of the plastic floor with the aid of clamps were attached PVC tubes with the float feature. The fiberglass feed tank was developed with useful capacity to store five kilograms nine hundred and twenty grams of powder feed with output to screw conveyor, the screw conveyor was machined in nylon material, and is in turn surrounded by a PVC tuber. To drive the screw conveyor it was connected to an electric motor with 12-volt operating voltage rating accopled to a gear unit based on mechanical system called gear motor. It is worth noting that the electronic power system uses a 12-volt rechargeable battery of supplying capacity of 7 Ah, high to necessary to the operation of 14 days. The programming language used was the C language, by Arduino 1.0.3 software. The equipment in question showed satisfactory results in terms of its functionality. The feed frequency became precise in the category of time and quantity since this is an automated system and not depending on a person to handle the fish feeding, since the human being in turn is often inaccurate. Another important point to establish is that the equipment allows changing in the programmatically feed frequency. The developed automatic feeder emphasizes the importance of investing in aquaculture technologies to optimize the cost and improving the feed system in the hatchery.
A automatização alimentar propicia o aumento da produtividade e eficiência alimentar, a uniformidade dos lotes, a homogeneidade na inversão sexual e o melhor desempenho produtivo. Esse trabalho teve por objetivo desenvolver um alimentador automático de baixo custo, por meio de uma plataforma microcontrolada denominada ARDUINO UNO® auxiliada pelo módulo rele, que teve a capacidade de fornecer o alimento parcelado previamente programado. Para o desenvolvimento do protótipo em questão utilizou-se: estrutura para flutuação e sustentação, reservatório de ração e rosca transportadora, sistemas motor e eletrônico. O sistema de sustentação elaborado feito com a utilização de piso plástico (PEAD - polietileno de alta densidade). Nas laterais do piso plástico, por auxílio de abraçadeiras, foram acoplados tubulações de PVC com a funcionalidade de flutuação. O reservatório de ração foi desenvolvido em fibra de vidro com capacidade útil para armazenar cinco quilos, novecentos e vinte gramas de ração em pó e este possui uma saída de quarenta milímetros para a rosca transportadora, que por sua vez foi usinada em material nylon e envolvida por uma tubulação de PVC. Para a movimentação da rosca transportadora conectou-se um motor elétrico com a tensão nominal de operação de 12 volts acoplado a um redutor baseado em sistema mecânico denominado rosca sem fim. Vale salientar que o sistema de alimentação eletrônico utiliza uma bateria recarregável de 12 volts com capacidade de fornecimento de 7 amper hora, superior ao necessário para o funcionamento durante 14 dias. A linguagem de programação utilizada foi a linguagem C, por meio do software Arduino 1.0.3. O equipamento em questão apresentou resultados satisfatórios quanto a sua funcionalidade. A frequência alimentar tornou-se precisa no quesito de tempo e quantidade pois trata-se de um sistema automatizado e não mais dependendo de um indivíduo para alimentar os peixes, pois o ser humano por sua vez é, muitas vezes impreciso. Outro ponto importante a se fixar é que o equipamento permite alteração da frequência alimentar de forma programada. O alimentador automático desenvolvido ressalta a importância de se investir em tecnologias na aquicultura para a otimização do custo e aperfeiçoamento do sistema alimentar na larvicultura.

M.Ing.
Parts feeding devices or feeders are used in automated assembly systems to deliver correctly oriented parts to the assembly station workhead. These devices play an important operational role since feeding is one of the major operations involved in an automated assembly process. However they account for much of the cost of an automated assembly system because most of the engineering time spent to develop such a system is used to devise a means of feeding the components in the correct orientation for the assembly process. This thesis describes the implementation of an integrated and computer controlled feeding and transfer system. The system consists of a vibratory bowl feeder for selecting, orienting and feeding parts and a flat conveyor belt for transferring parts to a prescribed location. The work focusses mainly on the design and analysis of the bowl feeder, on the mechanical and information interfacing aspects of the integration problem and on the control of the system. Sensing and electronic control circuits were also built to complete the system. The system implemented is to be integrated at a later stage with an industrial robot for handling purposes. Therefore, some issues related to the handling of parts from the conveyor belt by the robot are also discussed. Experimental results show that the recommendable operating frequency for the vibratory feeder is close to the value predicted by theoretical analysis. Several concurrent activities with critical time constraints and different periods were involved in the system, making the control more difficult due to the limited control capabilities of Visual basic, an easy to learn programming language used to implement the control program and the relatively slow speed of the computer used Nevertheless, it was observed that for feed rates close to 3 parts/min, the program developed performs well regarding the random control of the flow rate of parts on the conveyor, parts position and speed profiles obtained compare satisfactorily with the corresponding theoretical profiles. Recommendations for the integration of the robot to the system are made.